The Modular Approach to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Insolvency

Historically, insolvency systems have been designed with larger enterprises in mind. They assume an extensive insolvency estate of significant worth, and the presence of creditors and other stakeholders with sufficient value at stake that they participate in and oversee the process. These assumptions undergird mechanisms by which creditors and other stakeholders may ensure that the insolvency process faithfully serves their interests, for an independent professional to run the business undergoing an insolvency process, and for extensive judicial oversight. These assumptions and features are incongruent with the reality of micro, small, and medium enterprises (\u27MSMEs\u27). Mirroring the general population of businesses and reflecting the particular fragility associated with smaller asset bases and relative absence of risk diversification, the vast majority of businesses entering insolvency proceedings are MSMEs. On MSME insolvency, little or no value is available for distribution to anyone other than secured creditors in a significant proportion of insolvency estates, and secured creditors tend to have effective collection methods under non-insolvency law. Correspondingly, most secured and unsecured creditors, as well as other stakeholders, are rationally disinterested in the insolvency process. In many cases, it is not worthwhile for either the estate or most stakeholders to engage lawyers to represent them in court. Estates may possess inadequate value even to pay an independent insolvency professional. Such incongruence between the design of insolvency regimes and the nature of most of the businesses to which they apply leaves the insolvency process unbalanced, inadequately supervised, non-efficacious, and sometimes, simply unfeasible. Policy-makers and legislators have often responded through ad hoc changes to the ‘standard’ regime, such as by shearing some elements of the insolvency process when applied to smaller businesses, by shortening statutory timelines, and by dispensing with the necessary participation of certain stakeholders. The resulting processes have been marked by arbitrary boundaries, rigid preconditions for availability, and limited effectiveness. This paper systematically rethinks the treatment of distressed MSMEs. At its core is a new ‘Modular Approach’ to MSME insolvency. This approach is modular in two ways: (i) it allows national policy makers to choose from a range of available options including in terms of the involvement of appropriate institutions; (ii) subject to national authorities’ design decisions, the Modular Approach provides an essential ‘core’ process in each case, and allows relevant stakeholders to invoke additional tools (‘modules’) if and when the benefits of wielding those tools in the particular case outweigh the costs. The Modular Approach shares with ‘standard’ insolvency regimes the core objectives of preserving and maximizing the value in the insolvency estate, ensuring distribution over an appropriate period of time of the highest feasible proportion of that value to those entitled to it, providing due accountability for any wrongdoing connected with the insolvency, and enabling discharge of over-indebted natural persons. The Modular Approach differs in the way it pursues these objectives. Its basic assumption is that the parties to a particular insolvency case are best placed to select the tools appropriate to that case. The role of the legal regime should be to provide these tools in a maximally flexible way, while creating the correct incentives for their deployment. Traditionally, legal systems provide particular ‘packages’ or combinations of these tools and label them ‘workout’, ‘liquidation’ and ‘restructuring’. The Modular Approach unpacks those combinations. It assumes a core process, geared towards enabling the entrepreneur to propose a restructuring of the business’ liabilities and to obtain discharge of any unrepayable obligations. The entrepreneur, who may operate through a legal entity or as a sole trader, may access any of the full range of insolvency law mechanisms to enable attainment of these objectives. At the same time, creditors and other stakeholders have the right to adequate notification of each step in the process, coupled with the power to override the entrepreneur’s choices where a sufficient proportion of them consider it appropriate to do so. Judicial involvement is not required as a matter of course, though, again, it may be requested by the stipulated proportion of creditors. The process may obtain and retain momentum by virtue of the presumptions that stakeholders who have not positively objected to a step in the process have consented to that step, and that the non-exercise of procedural rights within the process precludes the relevant stakeholders from objecting to the part of the process to which the unexercised rights relate. Stakeholders are divided into appropriate classes; they must act by stipulated majority by value; and stipulated majorities by value of a class may bind dissenting minorities. The Modular Approach is designed to provide appropriate incentives for the entrepreneur and other stakeholders alike. Entrepreneurs have positive incentives to commence the insolvency process in a timely manner: they do not have to declare the business insolvent; they may, in principle, retain its management; and they have the right to propose how the insolvency should proceed. Entrepreneurs also face negative incentives that discourage non-timely commencement of insolvency proceedings, in that the Modular Approach imposes personal liability for any additional loss suffered by the business’ creditors because of blameworthy delay in commencement. The Modular Approach acknowledges that in many MSME insolvencies, unsecured creditors are rationally disinterested, given their limited economic stake and the very limited likelihood of any recovery in the process. They need not actively participate in the process if, upon due notification, they do not consider it worth the time and expense of participating. As noted, their abstention is deemed approval, and the insolvency process may continue apace. Negative incentives for creditors arise because the non-exercise of procedural rights amounts to a waiver of such rights. Positive incentives arise in creditors’ ability, acting with others who together hold a sufficiently large proportion of the claims against the enterprise, to override the entrepreneur’s choice of tools and to select a destiny for the business different to the one favoured by the entrepreneur. The Modular Approach also responds to differences in the economic, social and legal circumstances of different countries. It does so by guiding national policymakers with respect to the factors relevant to determining the proper boundaries between ‘standard’ and MSME insolvency regimes, and by identifying three functions: management, administrative and judicial. The Approach explains the costs and benefits of assigning those functions to different entities

Orius laevigatus Induces Plant Defenses in Sweet Pepper

Pest management in protected sweet pepper crops primarily relies on biological control strategies. The release of the phytoseiid Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot (Acari: Phytoseiidae) and the anthocorid Orius laevigatus Fieber (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) provides effective control of the two key pests of this crop, the thrips Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) and the whitefly Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) (Sanchez et al., 2000; Calvo et al., 2009; van der Blom et al., 2009). A part of their direct effect on pest predation, zoophytophagous predators may induce defensive plant responses due to their plant feeding behaviour which involves the release of diverse volatiles through different pathways that are triggered by phytohormones (De Puysseleyr et al., 2011; Naselli et al., 2016; Pappas et al., 2015, 2016; Pérez-Hedo et al., 2015a,b). These responses may result in the repellence or attraction of pests and natural enemies. It is hence hypothesized that O. laevigatus would be able to induce plant responses in sweet pepper as has been demonstrated in other plantzoophytophage systems. As a first step to better understand the interaction between O. laevigatus and sweet pepper, the behavior of O. laevigatus on the plants was studied and plant feeding behaviour quantified to compare general behaviors. Orius laevigatus spends the majority of its time (38%) feeding on apical meristems and apical fresh leaves, which were also preferred residence locations (Bouagga et al., 2017)

The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE): Technical Overview

The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) will expand the information space for study of cosmic sources, by adding linear polarization to the properties (time, energy, and position) observed in x-ray astronomy. Selected in 2017 January as a NASA Astrophysics Small Explorer (SMEX) mission, IXPE will be launched into an equatorial orbit in 2021. The IXPE mission will provide scientifically meaningful measurements of the x-ray polarization of a few dozen sources in the 2-8 keV band, including polarization maps of several x-ray-bright extended sources and phase-resolved polarimetry of many bright pulsating x-ray sources

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Desalcoholización del Vino

El vino es una bebida que, además de tener una gran aceptación social, puede ser fuente de compuestos bioactivos, beneficiosos para la salud. Sin embargo, bebido en exceso resulta altamente nocivo, por el porcentaje de alcohol que tiene. En este sentido interesa obtener vino sin alcohol, con similares propiedades sensoriales. El objetivo principal de este trabajo es analizar, en su conjunto, las metodologías de desalcoholización y su posible uso a nivel industrial para la obtención, económicamente viable, de vino con grado alcohólico reducido. Inicialmente se ha explorado la demanda social, y también se ha realizado una investigación sobre la actualidad de estos procesos, las propiedades del vino y el interés social, a través de una profunda búsqueda bibliográfica. A continuación, se han estudiado las diversas técnicas de desalcoholización, realizando un análisis exhaustivo de las más conocidas. Se han seleccionado las dos que han parecido más interesantes y aplicables, ósmosis inversa (reverse osmosis, RO) y columna de cono rotatorio (spinning cone column, SCC). Para estas dos se ha hecho una propuesta de los diseños de planta y se ha iniciado la implantación de los Análisis de Peligros y Puntos de Control Críticos contrastando siempre los distintos diseños con profesionales del sector. Se han especificado los PCC 1 y PCC2, así como el análisis económico de su puesta a punto. También se ha analizado y aplicado la legislación vigente a ambas técnicas, consultado la página oficial del Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, que recoge la legislación referente a la producción de vino. Se ha podido realizar un análisis experimental de desalcoholización de tres tipos de vino, a través de membranas. Los ensayos de evaluación de los productos desalcoholizados obtenidos se han realizado en el INCAVI (Institut Català de la Vinya i el Vi). Ello ha permitido comparar las propiedades originales (nivel de acidez, polifenoles, azúcares…) y la definición organoléptica de ambos productos, estándar y desalcoholizado. Ha quedado contrastado el alto interés de la sociedad en este tipo de bebidas, debido principalmente a una mayor concienciación por evitar el exceso de alcohol. Según la bibliografía es posible la reducción total del contenido de alcohol en el vino (se considera total una graduación inferior al 0.5%). Sin embargo, es improbable obtener una similitud organoléptica elevada con ese porcentaje. Por ello se asume que una reducción significativa del grado alcohólico (a partir de un 25%), es un logro si se mantienen las propiedades organolépticas. En el proceso experimental llevado a cabo se ha reducido entre 34% - 40% el contenido alcohólico en las tres muestras analizadas. Y, además, en esta primera prueba, se han mantenido las propiedades generales y la similitud organoléptica de ambos vinos, inicial y desalcoholizado. Como conclusión, se propone para la desalcoholización del vino una tecnología mediante membranas, ya que consigue modificar menos las condiciones a las que se somete el vino. También se ha confirmado que la inversión inicial no es elevada y la automatización del proceso no es compleja, si bien su viabilidad dependerá de la calidad global del producto final

Antioxidant, Immunomodulating, and Microbial-Modulating Activities of the Sustainable and Ecofriendly Spirulina

The highly nutritional and ecofriendly Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) has hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic, and antihypertensive properties. Spirulina contains functional compounds, such as phenolics, phycocyanins, and polysaccharides, with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunostimulating effects. Studies conducted on Spirulina suggest that it is safe in healthy subjects, but attitude to eating probably affects the acceptability of Spirulina containing foods. Although the antioxidant effect of Spirulina is confirmed by the intervention studies, the concerted modulation of antioxidant and inflammatory responses, suggested by in vitro and animal studies, requires more confirmation in humans. Spirulina supplements seem to affect more effectively the innate immunity, promoting the activity of natural killer cells. The effects on cytokines and on lymphocytes’ proliferation depend on age, gender, and body weight differences. In this context, ageing and obesity are both associated with chronic low grade inflammation, immune impairment, and intestinal dysbiosis. Microbial-modulating activities have been reported in vitro, suggesting that the association of Spirulina and probiotics could represent a new strategy to improve the growth of beneficial intestinal microbiota. Although Spirulina might represent a functional food with potential beneficial effects on human health, the human interventions used only supplements. Therefore, the effect of food containing Spirulina should be evaluated in the future